No one ever accused a bandit of being "flickable" Although compared to the 92 concours she's agile and quick steering.
Well, my Hayabusa shock came in today and the racetech springs and gold valves are on order to be delivered wednesday. New set of tires is ready to go for after my next interstate jaunt over memorial day. I could use a brake upgrade over the SS lines I have currently. Maybe I'll get motivated and do a step by step on some of the install. Doing my best to turn the sledgehammer into a precision sledgehammer
Let me know how that swap goes, I hear it raises the rear end and is stiffer butI ride 2-up with Givi 45L boxes a lot so I'm looking for a stiffer rear end. Even riding solo it will make it feel more "sporty" -Jake
Well, I have to say the shock swap is legitimately not worthy of photographs It's very straightforward. To clear the resevoir, there are a pair of hinges on the airbox that the top panel hinge on to mate to the bottom panel. Looking from back to front, the hinge on the left must be trimmed off. I didnt have a dremel handy, so a pair of dykes, a razor knife, and a file made relatively quick work of it. That is the only item that requires more than bare bones basic removal of nuts and bolts. Remove seat remove side panels remove battery remove forward pair of screws holding inner fender in place Unbolt the shock, top and rear. Flex the inner fender down and the shock comes out. Unbolt the rear of the fuel tank, and lift it up. Remove the plate that the fuel tank mounts on. Remove the airbox top panel and perform the trimming as described above. Do the same to the bottom panel hinge portion. Reinstall. Reinstall all fuel tank components. Drop in the Hayabusa shock and bolt the bottom to its linkage. Find a friend to lift the rear wheel / swingarm up until you can insert the bolt at the top eye of the shock. Torque the bolts to whatever the suzuki spec is, or to "that feels good" like I did. Reinstall the bolts that hold in the inner fender Reinstall battery Reinstall side panels Reinstall seat. Hope for the best. Hope this helps anyone looking into this mod. It took about 90 minutes fumbling my way through it and in my estimation is very worth it. It is significantly less harsh on stutterbumps and seems to actually not be trying to buck me off at all times, and that is with zero tuning of the setup. I havent measured sag but it feels to be close to where it needs to be. Once the racetech front end goes in I will probably do a more scientific setup on it. I did confirm the shock was set up to factory specs prior to installing, for reference.
It is higher, but the difference is pretty negligible. If I was cranking up the preload it may be different once the suspension sagged down. As it stands it seems to sag down a touch more than it used to and may be about a half inch higher with me on it.
Having a bit of trouble today. On the interstate, the bike runs fine for awhile and then after some time I lose power and it sputters and kicks as if it is running out of gas. Had 4 bars when this last happened. I stopped and retightened the battery connections. I lifted the tank and the fuel line is routed properly. Ran fine yesterday for 100 mile ride. At the end of the day I put in some B12 carb cleaner (cheaper version of Sea Foam) and sprayed some of the engine with brake cleaner to get rid of some of the gunk that's on there. The only time I had something similar happen it was a misrouted fuel line, but it looks fine Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
Check the two carb breathers between bodies 1/2 & 3/4. Mine did that when the breathers were routed up instead of down and had a crack in the "T" connectors. -Jake
Thanks for the tip. Will do when I get the chance. Made it the last 50 miles no issue. Very strange Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
The boot on the right most carb is not on all the way. Once I can remove the side cover I will try to secure the boot properly. Hope that's it Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
Well. I stopped, undid all the hoses leading to the tank. Removed the tank. Removed the air filter and beat it against the bike to get some dirt out. Put it all back together, topped off and went 200 miles with no problem other than the torrential downpour I wasn't expecting. Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
Hey Banditos, I'm going to be picking up a 1999 Bandit 1200s next weekend, test rode it yesterday. Seems to be in great shape: not banged up, 16k miles, new tires. Only things I noticed that were off was a mushy and weak rear brake (hopefully solved by bleeding it). My question: The bike has a SuperTrapp slip on and a K&N filter (not a fan, will probably go back to a paper element). From what I understand, the jetting was left stock. The bike has a bit of a delay/flat spot when giving it a lot of throttle at 3krpm. What is the most straightforward way of solving this in terms of fueling? Is there a tried and true setup for bikes with slip ons? Can I get away with just adjusting the pilot screw and shimming the needles slightly? Are larger main jets a must? Is it possible to rejet to smooth things out and improve response without sacrificing fuel economy much (or at all)? I can't wait to pick this thing up! I have to say, at $2100 these older Bandits hit the value sweet spot for a do it all comfy sport tourer!
I have a second gen that is a much better bike after installing Holeshot jetting and timing advancer. It seems like your bike would be really lean with K&N and pipe. BTW, those K&N pods make carb work so much easier than the airbox that is on my second gen. If I were you, I would talk to Dale at Holeshot and he'll set you up right the first time. He has done all the trial and error stuff and knows Bandit jetting and tuning inside out.
They aren't pods I don't think, at least those gaudy chrome airbox covers are still on my best guess is that it's a K&N filter element in the stock box. Thanks for the input, I had read the Holeshot website earlier, definitely looks like a guru for these Bandits. I'm actually totally happy with the power as is, more than enough for me! I just want a smooth throttle response and less cold blooded starts, while retaining stock fuel economy if possible.
Call Dale Walker. I have a 97 with k&n and Vance & Hines slip on. whatever you do, don't do the 2" hole airbox mod, if you want to keep gas mileage. One thing you can try is to raise the needles with a thin washer, but it probably needs larger pilot jets. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I847 using Tapatalk 2
Well, my 05 goes under the knife starting today. Full racetech front fork springs and gold valves just shipped in. My current question is what is the best way to support the front end while I have the forks off? My garage isnt really well equipped for a chainfall, but I guess I could make it work if I had to. Any other thoughts / experiences to share? As well, does the quarter fairing have to come off to get the forks out? It looks fairly clear in there to remove them without stripping it but if someone knows better I'd appreciate the info.
Its a KLX, I'll have you know I thought about doing something like that, but was worried about possibly damaging the header
